Glad the interviewer asked about Angel - that was my big question after reading the issue, too - why no mention of Angel? Must say I was very intrigued by Scott Allie's answer. Maybe I wasn't too off-base after all.

"4) When asked about Angel possibly being the father(since Buffy considered Spike as a possibility),Scott seems to leave that door open with his refusial to answer that question."

And given that we are supposed to believe that Buffy hasn't seen Angel since the end of the Twilight Saga (yeah, I went there...) then you would have to assume that if Angel is the baby-daddy then this is a mystical pregnancy, which then means that even if Buffy did go through with an attempted abortion it might not work.

I'm still leaning towards this being Twilight's back up plan. A way to bring itself into this universe in human form. I mean, Jasmine did it and her way was a lot more complicated. Not to mention slightly more incesty.

I really, really hope this is not going to be some kind of evil entity birthing itself, or some weird mystical thing that Buffy can't end even if she wants to. We've had multiple versions of that storyline on AtS, and the last thing I want in the Buffyverse is another story about a woman victimized by pregnancy.

I'm really hoping for a normal human pregnancy, personally--we haven't seen that before in a Joss story. If it is a mystical pregnancy, I hope it's something different than we've seen before--i.e. not evil and not another Magic Vampire Baby.

So, in the assumption that she will get the abortion, I'm still having some serious issues about "who's the father?" Namely, who cares? I can think of only two circumstances in which this fact matters at all for anything other than the gratuitous infliction of pain of a sort I never thought I'd see in the Buffyverse and haven't seen since a specific scene in the 4th Twilight novel.

If Buffy's pregnancy is a result of a rape, it's relevant... but then the story has just been moving from structural catastrophe to structural catastrophe. It would be the "oh yeah, by the way" rape story, so badly tacked on that you might as well go back and reveal Parker drugged her, too.

If her pregnancy has a phlebotenous component (i.e. is the key to restoring magic, or is demon spawn, etc), then its all just very repetitive. And in both instances, it would just invite a lot of criticism from those in favor of her abortion (whose opinions are I think we can safely deduce the ones in the audience and popular culture that count at this point) for having "cushioned the blow".

But... if she just had bad idea, consensual drunken sex (an idea from which the story has not wavered up to this point), revealing to the audience or to the character serves no legitimate purpose other than to make him or us miserable. Which brings me back to thinking the identity only truly matters if she isn't getting the abortion... but how likely is that at this point?

His strength comment is something I find mystifying. Is it an "easy" decision an abortion? Not really, no. Is it the easiest, though, the least disruptive, least demanding, requiring the least modification of lifestyle, goals, and priorities choice available to her? Well, yes, it is. So even in the somewhat muted way he can say she's showing "strength", it's a bit undercut by the fact that she could be showing a helluva lot more. Which is part of why I'd loved for someone to have asked him about the paradox of putting the audience in a position to basically agree with her "I suck at life" speech. Maybe it would be better to say that she shows "resolve" in making the decision, which has an intrinsically admirable quality as well, and is true regardless of what she decides.

I'm honestly not sure if I want these guys to even attempt what would feel like an indulgent head-pat to the pro-life "Buffy" fans of giving us a proxy in the story, because I flat out don't trust them to do a very equitable job of it. The last thing I expect is for them to have a Xander or Willow or Spike make a pro-life argument to Buffy that actually affects her philosophically, so black mustache twirling shame would be the most likely avenue. But I don't see why an existing character bystander has to be destroyed with the audience as part of this storyline.

KingofCretins, what do you think of Robin Wood already making a good pro-life argument in issue #6? I mean Buffy didn't take what he was saying to heart, but that doesn't change his message. Also the flashbacks with Nikki showing that she wasn't doing the greatest at life either, but still had the child, once again has a more pro-life element to it.

Matt, Robin Wood himself is a pro-life argument, but I don't think he particularly made a pro-life argument as a matter of philosophy. He made a pro-Buffy argument*, but he wasn't really saying "you shouldn't get an abortion, because of X, Y, Z about abortion and about the nature of human life". He didn't make the pro-life counterpart to Willow's rant against Thanksgiving, in other words. And that's probably not something I want to see them attempt -- either it would probably destroy the character in the eyes of a lot of folk or, and probably worse for the same people, it would actually sway Buffy out of the certainty of her decision before the fact or her comfort with it after.

*But good for Wood to make the pro-Buffy argument. It's nice that at least one character felt like pointing out that Buffy is equal to this or almost any other task, since the rest, including herself, will ostensibly abstain (although I have some hopes for Spike).

Well, since it's the worst thing I can think of, at this point I'm betting it's a Twangel baby, she can't abort, and I will never ever be able to wipe Season 8 completely out of my head like I have been trying.

Very good interview. I still don't know how to feel about all this, not in a bad way though its just my feelings are totally mixy at the moment. I'm both pro-choice and pro-life, in the sense that her having the baby wouldn't be such a horrible thing.
(If said baby is not a monster that is...) So I'm torn as to how this is gonna play out but again not in a negative way its just heartbreaking all together.

As to the question about who the "frick" the father is? I'm pretty clueless. The more I think about it, the more I analyze and then still just as clueless, if not even more so.

(I'm hoping its Spike and that's mostly due to my shipping status when it comes to my OTP)

But whatever the outcome of this season I'm going to fall in love with it like all the rest before it. Even when there are things I'll hate and partly disagree with in the end I accept, appreciate and love the story in its entirety like I always have with each of Joss's shows.

Interesting interview. I do wonder how 'pretty soon' the father will be revealed regarding this. It makes me think maybe by next issue we will have the information.

I think KoC had it right on the money. If the father is important or will be revealed as an important element, then it's probably because the abortion will effect him deeply...

This interview didn't really give me any new info though. My biggest question was why were there so many emails and issues with issue 6? Didn't Allie say that he was surprised at 6 and sent Joss/Andrew emails back and forth and such? That's the biggest clue for me regarding why Buffy may not go through with the abortion...because it surprised Allie who was at the Summit and if abortion was brought up at the Summit it shouldn't have been a surprise for him when it came up in 6. (Unless he was surprised about something else...)

As for 'who the daddy' is? Doesn't everyone know my opinion by now? I see too many textual clues pointing at Spike, the fact that we'll find out soon makes me feel more confident in this belief...unless they throw me a curve ball and it's Xander's...Andrew being the daddy wouldn't surprise me any. (And if it is Spike's and Buffy goes through with the abortion my heart will have been officially ripped out by Joss...)

I wonder, if it's Spike's, will he mention it before Buffy has the abortion and ask her not to get one? Or will he not want to burden her with the info and we'll actually see things from his POV in issue 7 and that's how we'll know he's the father? Or will losing her arm cause Buffy to rethink abortion?

One thing is for certain, I do not want Buffy's choice taken from her via an unabortable supernatural thing or her having a miscarriage. Though I want neither I will not discount neither.

Very good interview. Am keenly looking forward to what is to come for the Buffster. I enjoyed S8 on the whole, but there is a tightness of plot and pacing in S9 that eluded its predecessor.

I've avoided weighing into the whole "abortion" debate, as I think the balance between so inherently personal a choice and a public debate (about a personal choice) is a very difficult one to get right. Of course, that doesn't mean the issue should be avoided. On the contrary - it needs considerable attention. And I think Joss/Scott/Dark Horse have handled this story-line exceptionally well so far. It's been thoughtful, painful, careful, respectful, bold, and in the best traditions of Buffy (and all other works Whedon), provocative. I have no idea what's going to happen next, and no real interest in trying to guess, either. All I want is for time to pass quickly until I can get my hands on Issue #7!

I wonder, if it's Spike's, will he mention it before Buffy has the abortion and ask her not to get one?

Spike would have no reason to think the baby's his, even if they did hook up at the party. As far as he knows, he's still got Cold Dead Seed. Perhaps he's so shocked at the pregnancy news because now he (mistakenly) thinks that Buffy has been sleeping with someone else too.

Thanks for asking about Connor, Buffyfest. Seems strange that nobody would've mentioned it in the main Buffy series so far, but then again there hasn't really been a specific situation set up in such a way to mention his existence. Probably about as close as they could've gotten was sometime towards the end of the Twilight stuff after Angel was revealed.

Spike would have no reason to think the baby's his, even if they did hook up at the party. As far as he knows, he's still got Cold Dead Seed. Perhaps he's so shocked at the pregnancy news because now he (mistakenly) thinks that Buffy has been sleeping with someone else too.

Yes, you are right. I don't think Spike would think it's his either. That definitively wouldn't be his first thought. I was asking that if he did ever come to that conclusion from what Buffy told him (of course that hinges on the idea they slept together at the party). No matter what I don't think Spike is going to want to make anything harder for Buffy at the moment and may just follow her lead, no matter what he knows.

I don't think he would care about Buffy having slept with someone else though. Spike's pretty liberal when it comes to sex and wouldn't think it too big a deal...to a certain degree. I can see how it might affect him later on though.